We've been using cloth nappies for a year now, specifically ‘Prefold Nappies’. Every day I lay out a white cotton nappy on the bed and hastily pin it around my son before picking out an adorable waterproof cover with anything from monkeys and dinosaurs, to black tartan. It’s nothing cuter to me than seeing my content little Dragon, toddling off with his chunky animal printed bum. However when I tell other mothers I cloth Nappy, a common reply from those interested is.“I am not sure if it is for me, I wouldn't know where to start… How much work is it? How do you find time to wash all the nappies? …and what about, you know… the poo?” I am not an expert or a salesperson, and there are countless of pages dedicated to the various types of cloth nappies. So instead I will simply take you through my personal daily routine and experience, and hopefully in so doing it will give you an insight into the life of Cloth nappying. Prefolds: If you do any type of research into cloth nappies, most images that pop up is normally a verity of a ‘Pocket nappy’. These are nappies that looks in every way similar to that of a disposable paper nappy, but is clearly made of fabric. Most people who cloth nappy uses ‘Pocket Nappies’ or ‘All In One Nappies’ but while these are popular, they are not the only option. If you were to ask somebody who were a parent in the early 80’s or before, they will speak of something called ‘Flat nappies’ or their much more convenient cousin ‘the Prefold(ed nappy). These are large flat squares of cotton that has been sown together so they are lightly padded, and is then wrapped around the baby, and pinned with either a large safety pin or in these days a ‘Snappy’.

Why we chose Prefolds: Most of my friends use Pocket Nappies and are very happy with their choice. Personally when I first began my nappy journey I wasn't confident that I would stick with it so we chose the ‘cheap’ option. A full set of 25 Organic cotton Prefolds and all the accessories you need will generally cost only half as much as that of a full set of Pocket Nappies, (though you can source those cheaply as well, especially second hand). Also you don’t have to worry too much about ‘will this nappy brand I invested in fit or leak’, because Prefolds are individually wrapped around the baby and you can make it as tight as you wish. Lastly had I decided I wanted to go for Pocket Nappies later, you can reuse the Prefolds as inlays. There are of course downsides to Prefolds, they take a little longer to fold and becomes trickier as baby gets wiggly. They are a little bit on the bulkier side of nappies, and there isn't much room for extra padding so might need changing more often.

What we use

25 Prefold Nappies: We use Bummis Organic Cotton.

3 – 5 Waterproof covers: We use Blueberry Coveralls, with poppers.

3 – 6 Nappy fasteners: We use Snappi.

1 Nappy Bucket with lid: We use a 14 litre one.

2 Mesh Laundry bags: We use TotsBots

Our Cloth Nappy Routine

This is our personal routine, it may differ from that of another person, but it should give you an insight.

1. We take one naked and content dragon and lay him on his back.2. Then we take one Prefold and lay it flat underneath baby, and fold it tightly around his waist. (There are different ways to fold a Prefold nappy depending on the gender and your need, it’s a bit like Nappy Origami.)3. We secure the Nappy with a Snappy and make sure it’s loose enough that you can put two fingers between the nappy and babies belly.4. Wrap the waterproof cover around, secure it, and that’s it.

When the Nappy is soiled

1.Take the bucket with the lid and attach the Mesh laundry bag.

2. As you remove the soiled nappy, just toss it in the bucket until it is full to the top. (We do not use anything in the bucket like Napisan, partially as the nappies never stay longer than 3-5 days)

3. We wipe baby using cloth wipes [Link].4. When the bucket is full, remove the mesh without touching the nappies and toss the mesh and everything into the washing machine, turn it on and relax. We wash nappies no more than 3 times a week.

Night time

I have a confession, we are only day time Clothers. We do use paper disposable nappies occasionally, and night time is one of these. While you can layer a Prefold and make is night proof, we have never done so. Little Dragon used to be a terrible sleeper and I tried to limit anything that might cause the slightest disturbance. For this reason we have always bought Biodegradable Paper Nappies for night use, which prevents baby from feeling wet. Our preferred brand is Naty, but we've also used Beaming-baby with much success.

When we use paper nappies

We do own and use disposable paper nappies, and one packet tends to last us about 3 months. Many who Cloth Nappy are purists, but we keep some disposables for night use and as backup. We tend to buy some of the pricier Biodegradable brands such as Naty and Beaming-baby. Other times we turn to paper nappies are: Long car journeys, as sitting on the motorway with a crying wet baby just isn't fun and during spot of illnesses such as a runny tummy. I've always liked having a packet in the house, just in case.

One thing I've learned the hard way on my journey as an alternative mum is that, trying to do things differently is fine, but if things gets hard it's no point being a martyr.

What to do about the poo

This is the question I often get, and one I don’t always see addressed on other cloth nappy pages, again there are many different ways of dealing with it, and I can only share what we personally do.

Breastfed baby under 6 months: If it is an exclusively breastfed baby that isn't eating solids, the soiled nappy can go right in the washing machine, this is because its waste is made up of digested milk and is therefore water-soluble. Breast-milk poo will not harm or stain your washing machine. Formula fed babies under 6 months: From what I understand having no experience with it myself, formula poo is also water-soluble and can therefore be put straight into the washing machine. The exception is if it is exceptionally thick, which I am told can happen. In those cases the excess is best wiped off.

Baby that is eating solid food: The good news is that by the time babies eat solid, you will have cloth nappied for 6 months and therefore this part shouldn't be too much of a hassle. Bad news is that the ease of dealing with water-soluble waste is over and you need to dispose of the poo. There are many ways to go about this, some install a bidet water spray and uses water to flush it off, some wipe, some scrape, but personally we use liners. You can buy biodegradable liners that can be dropped right into the loo with poo and all. The wee goes straight through it, and the waste lays on top. Once babies guts mature, a lot of its waste can resemble that of an adults, and will just fall off the nappy leaving hardly any stains.

And there you are. I hope it will help some, or at least give an insight in the world of cloth nappies. If this can inspire one other parent out there to consider using cloth, then it would make me overjoyed.

Cloth nappying is truly not that difficult. I toss a bag of soiled nappies into the washing machine a few times a week and return to my daily routine without it ever effecting it. It is such a luxury never having to rush to the supermarket because I'm running out, and I don't even wish to calculate the money and waste I've saved.

In the pursuit to go Greener, getting rid of the baby-wipes is
definitely one of the easier changes one can do. There are many reasons why one
should ditch the wet wipes, the top reasons being…- You save money- No more waste- No fear of toxic chemicals- Some wipes can cause rashes, and allergic
reactions- Your baby will no longer stink of rubbing alcohol and
perfume I could delve into the hazardous chemicals found in some baby
wipes, but there are sites with more suitable people listing those.Instead I will share with you my personal Baby-wipe free
routine.

“Days when little dragon is a getting close to a state of
over tiredness, there is nothing quite like a warm bath to return him to
a tranquil and sleepy state. I turn the light down, and while he will splash
around frantically, I’ll make sure my own energy is calm
and relaxed.” There is however one trick that often seems to help both
of us get there a little quicker. I personally believe in the
power of Lavender, this beautiful and fragrant flower with anti-inflammatory
properties, is also known for it’s sleep inducing qualities. Some people will
make it in to a spray, rub it on their skin or put a few drops in the bath
water, but with soaps, creams, oils and other products the scent can often be
lost.

So I instead turn the hot water tap on in the sink and fill the
basin about 10%. 3 – 5 drops of lavender, and the bathroom swims in its
powerful fragrance within seconds, separate from what is happening in the tub. When we leave the bathroom, I often have a sleepy little dragon
wrapped up in a cosy towel and draped over my shoulder, yawning.

‘We go through a lot of eggs in our household, and with a
relative that keeps chicken, we are never short of supply. That said, once the
weeks roll by it can be difficult to remember how old the eggs are, and same for
store-bought. Sure you can look at the date, but we all know that it’s not
always that reliable. When wishing to reduce food waste, last you want to do is
to throw out perfectly good eggs.’The most common advice when checking an egg, is to simply crack
it in a glass and give it a sniff. But what if you wish to boil it? What if you
want to check a whole batch in one sitting? There is a way.Method:Pour fresh (not salt) water half way into a glass or
bowl.Lower the egg gently in and watch.If it sinks, it is safe to eat If it floats, throw it
out

Reason: Eggs shells are porous, and when an egg decomposes, water and
gases are released through the shell causing the whites and the yolk to shrink. This in turn creates a large air pocket, and the bigger the air pocket, the more it
will float.

Eggs that lie at an angle, gently bounces at first or stands on
its point are still fresh enough to be eaten, but are no
longer at its freshest.

Since Dragon was born, we’ve never used the words ‘mummy and
daddy’ around him. Instead it has always been, “Here’s father” “Come to
mother” “Why don’t you have a quick cuddle with mother before playing with
father” etc. Let me right away state this is not a criticism of people who use ‘mummy’, most of the country does and we see no problem with
the terms “mummy and daddy”. This is just a personal preference, and there is no
issues with the term ‘mummy’ in itself, it’s cute, easy to say and works for
most families. But we don’t use it, and here is my simple reasons
why:

Firstly: I found myself speaking to my son differently when
dropping the word ‘mummy’.This is very much my own personal experience, but when Dragon
was little and I leant over my new-born boy and spoke, I found my tone and my
language changed when I used ‘mother’ instead of ‘mummy’. When using ‘mummy’ I
often seemed to revert to baby talk. “An’t yoo a coot baby, mummy luv you suuuu
much, goochy goochy gooo!” I am not a baby talk fan. I wanted to get in the
habit of speaking to my son even from infancy in a respectful manner. He is a
baby, but we’ve always wanted to raise him with the same respect as one would an
elderly citizen. We might be wiping his bottom and spoon-feeding him, but he is
entitled to dignity and so we speak and treat him as such. Somehow when using
the term ‘mother’, I didn’t seem to fall into the same habit. “Mummy luuuves
yooo!” became “Mother loves you!” Again not a criticism of baby talk, it’s just
not my cup of tea.Secondly: It’s just so adorable when you see a child use
‘mother’.That’s really it. I am aware that one would assume my second
reason would be that it sounds ‘posh’, but that’s irrelevant to me. My partner
refers to his mum as ‘mother’, a habit he began as an adult, and I love it.
“Come here mother, let me help you” I’ve always loved it. I also once
encountered a little barefooted boy running across a field shouting “Mother,
mother, come see this!” and it was just the cutest. When I suggested to my
partner we use ‘mother and father’ I expected more hesitation, but he didn’t
even dwell on it. The hardest bit has been getting used to the term ourselves, I
found myself naturally saying“Ah, give mummy a hug” and have had to
catch myself a few times. If it slips out, it slips out, but the change hasn’t
been that difficult.

A curious bit of trivia: My baby
still says ‘mamama’ and ‘dadadada’. I have several friends that
that swear that when their baby says ‘mama’, it means mother and ‘dada’ means
father, and I am not in a place to disagree with them. It’s their children, they
know their home situation best so it would be arrogant of me to claim their
babies were only babbling. I can only speak from my own experience, and that is
that little Dragon loves to shout ‘mamama’ and ‘dadada’ and also ‘bababa’ on top
of his lungs, and I’ve never assumed it had anything to do with myself. ‘Dadada’
seem to be used when excited, he shouts it a lot when his father comes home, but
also when I open the blinds in the bedroom or I am about to run him a bath. I
asked a single mum I know from group if her daughter that rarely saw her dad,
still said ‘dadada’, and she said yes. It had confused her at first, but she too
eventually agreed that it was just her baby practising her sounds. Curiously
when you ask little Dragon, “Where is father”, he
will however run up and pat his dad vigorously. But once
more allow me to stress, if you feel that when your baby says ‘mama’
or ‘dada’ it is definitely referring to you, then you are right and I am in no
place to tell you differently.

This is one food tip I wish I had known sooner, as these crisps
are just mouth-watering delicious. In our household we go through a lot of potatoes. Mashed, baked,
fried, boiled and roasted as chips, the amount of times I've poured a cutting
board full of potatoes skins in the bin, pains me now that I've tasted these. A
combination of wishing to reduce food waste, and always looking for ways to be
more thrifty, is how I came to try this little trick. In my old non organic days
I would never considered making use of the skin or foliage of the vegetables I
was dicing up in fear of pesticides, but little did I know I was denying myself
sometimes the best bit! Not only does these make a delicious snacks, but are great
sprinkled over a salad or as a side dish to the main meal. Method:Take a heap of organic potatoes peelings and spread them evenly
across an oven tray, or a roasting tin. Season it generously, add a
sprinkle of olive oil and flavour it with any herbs of your choosing such as fresh garlic
and dried coriander.Pop it in the fan oven set at 180c (350F) for 20 minutes, move them
around at least once to prevent sticking.Tip: If a little on the greasy side, place them on a paper towel and pat gently dry before serving.

Pancakes that only contains two ingredients. You read that
right, which makes them not only the healthiest pancakes around, but also super
quick to make.

There are no food my son loves more than Bananas, and
eggs, though normally on their own. This recipe combines those exact two
ingredients making delicious pancakes that is too tasty to survive until the
next day. This recipe wasn't originally made for babies, but has been floating around on
the internet in the health food section as a guilt free treat. With no milk and no
flour, it’s perfect for parents of babies that are a bit food
sensitive. It's also very useful to know on the days your food cupboards are a little bare.

Ingredients:1 large banana2 medium eggsMethod:Mash banana in a bowl with a fork until mushy, and chunky. Crack
two eggs into the bowl and whisk until you have what feels and looks like a
standard pancake batter.Cook on the hob on medium to low heat.

I was in casual conversation with
an experienced mum, mentioning the food habits of my little dragon. I listed the
boiled vegetables he had tried, the cooked meats, the simple dishes. Meanwhile
my little dragon who was had just turned seven months, was eagerly pulling himself up
onto the furniture and desperate attempting to play with my phone. “You are
feeding him wrong”, the woman suddenly said, “look at him, he’s so active for his
age, he will burn through those calories, you have a little gym goer on your
hands, you need to feed him like a mini athlete.” It was true, little dragon had
mastered to crawl by six months and was on the way to walking already. He was
slim and tall, and never sat still for a second. She threw a few suggestions out
there and asked me about yoghurt. “Yogurt?” I asked, but I was breastfeeding,
why would he need cows milk. “Not milk, yoghurt.” She advice me that the extra
protein would do him some good. That was the day I bought my first tub of St Helen’s farm
yoghurt. As a ‘green parent’, there is a few things that I look for when feeding
my little dragon. 1. The welfare of the animals and how
ethical the company is.2. An absence of
added sugar, salts or unnecessary ingredients. 3. Is
it of any nutrition value to my little boy.The reason I went for goat stead of cow is that goat milk is
much more similar to that of human milk and easier to digest.

Vinegar is not just an amazing cleaning product (click here for
an brilliant citrus based all-purpose cleaner ), but you can also turn the
bottle itself to a perfect sized non-plastic spray bottle (the nozzle being the
exception).

As 'Green' parents, we try and cut back on our dependency on
plastic. Glass is easily cleaned, reused, recycled and removes any fear
of contamination through the plastic leaching into its content. That does not
say we don’t own plastic utensils, just not for anything that stores any liquid
or food for any length of time. This is double when it comes to what baby
gets in contact with. That is why this bottle is perfect for storing our home
made all-purpose cleaner that we uses to wipe own Little Dragons tray with.What you do: Step 1: Buy a 568ml standard bottle of Vinegar (UK)
with a screw top lid, Use up the vinegar.Step 2: Soak bottle in boiling water until the label is
saturated and remove it with a blunt knife, scraping and wiping off the
remainder glue.Step 3: Buy or reuse a 28mm spray nozzle, cut the tube to
length.

Don't you just love a nice smelling house? Problem with a lot of 'natural air fresheners' suggestions on web, they involve leaving a pot of the hob to simmer for hours, which to me seemed both inconvenient, a waste of gas/electricity and pretty unsafe. Once again the old slow cooker comes to the rescue. Using the energy of no more than a single light bulb, and safe enough to be left unattended, you can have your house smelling lush for hours, and each day can be different.

Method:
Boil water in the kettle, pour it in the slow cooker, turn the setting to 'low' and leave it with its lid off. Toss in any fragrance combination of your choosing, remember this isn't to be consumed so you can be extra creative. Keep the water topped up during the day to stop it drying out, if steam is rising from the pot you know it's working.

As a ‘Baby Led Weaning’ family, we get through quite a few messy bibs in a week. Before this simple hack, we could spend precious time every morning searching for where the last batch of clean bibs had been placed. For parents like myself, minutes are ‘gold dust’, and now they hang up neatly on the back of my sons high chair (seen in the picture).

The hooks are your common stick on, self Adhesive type you can find at any hardware store, no screws or nails are necessary. Tip: If you have an inquisitive and active dragon boy like myself, you might want to invest in the stronger versions of the hooks. A high reaching baby and toddler can be tempted to pull, and explore the hooks, or tug on the bibs with all their weight.

I love a good gadget, especially one that promises to simplify my life. I was automatic drawn to the 'No spill Giro bowl' out of childlike intrigue and to be honest, the price did helped. You can pick this thing up most places for under 5£, it's cheap and cheerful and the quality reflects it. A part of me would have loved to spend a little more for a better quality one, but you get what you pay for. So what is it: This is a no spill bowl that always stays horizontal no matter which way the baby to toddler holds it. If they grab the handle and turn it upside down the bowl spins and remains upright.So does it work? Mostly yes...ish.... In the random arm waving of a toddle that is just holding onto it without any thought, it keeps correcting itself and prevent spillage. If dropped, shook vigorously or tossed, its content will go flying.That said, I accept my little dragon will find a way to make a mess no matter what clever contraption I've bought, and if the item reduces the spillage by 50% its normal amount then it's a win in my book. I recommend only using dry snacks in it though.

As big fans of Baby led weaning, our little dragon frequently feed straight from his tray. No bowls and no plates, spaghetti, fried eggs and slices of banana is dumped unceremoniously in-front of him, providing both sensory play and lunch. Once done, I quickly wipe his tray down, and it didn't take long before I became concerned with what I was cleaning with. On one hand I needed something strong enough to remove tomato sauce and smeared yoghurt. On the other, I wanted it to be non-toxic so that he could lick the surface without a worry. To top it off, being a busy dragonmother, I did not have time to brew some complex concoction needing speciality ingredients and exact measurements.This is why this quick all-purpose cleaner is such a great discovery. As somebody who isn't a huge fan of strong vinegar smell, this one smells of fragrant orangey loveliness.Ingrediants Distilled White Vinegar: 568mlOrganic orange peel: As many as you can cram in.Orange essential oil: 5 - 10 drops (optional)A large mason Jar. Place all ingredients in a large mason jar, and leave to sit for two weeks minimum, until the liquid have turned a pleasant orange colour. Strain and pour into a spray bottle.Tips: As most pesticide reside in the skin of the fruit, it's best to use organic if possible but it's not a must. You can always start with one orange peel to begin with and add more through the weeks as you eat your way through your fruit bowl. While you don't need more than 5 drops of Orange essence, some people who are not fans of the pungent vinegar smell might want to add a few more.

Tips: Alternatively experiment with adding other things to the jar, such as fresh rosemary, lavender or other oils.

Trick: If you are somebody who worry about plastic contamination, there are some nice large glass bottles with plastic spray nozzle available on the market. Most 28mm Trigger spray nozzles will fit on a standard large Vinegar bottle. For a quick guide on how to make your own, check out this [Link].

Alternative, Attachment parent, Holistic, Natural, free range, hippy or crunchy. Whatever label you prefer it conjures up an image while stereotypical, isn't always entirely inaccurate. When you are a bit ‘alternative’ yourself you are often on the look out for like minded mothers, scouring the baby groups for the one mum that might approach parenting the way you do, and the best way to identify them, is to look at their babies.

Here are some signs that you are looking at a possible hippy baby.

1. They are wearing an Amber teething necklace.2. They got a thick bum because of the layers of Cloth nappies.3. All things rainbow seem to be a recurring theme in their clothing.4. Their jacket is handmade or made from ethically sourced Wool, possibly with more rainbows.5. When sleepy they go in a carrier or wrap instead of a pram.6. They run around with a carrot and solid pieces of fruit in their hand when other babies are fed purée. 7. Summer time on the grass is barefootor naked baby time. 8.Cloth wipes and handkerchiefs are used to wipe up drool and snot.9. The baby girls wear boys clothes, or their pink dresses features spaceships and dinosaurs.10. The baby boy has at least one pink shirt, just because.11. No matter the parents income, baby owns a collection of expensive organic cotton babygrows.12. Baby communicate with sign language that they want milk.13. All the babies, bottles, eating utensils and packaging is, glass or stainless steel.14. Baby when not barefooted, wears moccasins instead of shoes.15. There is a complete absence of brands, or heavily advertised children characters from its wardrobe.

So, what was your score?

Roar

This blog follows the adventures of Little Dragon, and explores how to balance a sustainable and green lifestyle with modern comforts and geekery.